State–Business Relations in Comparative Perspective: Theories, Methods, and Empirical Insights

In an era of geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and new forms of economic interventionism, relations between states and business actors are undergoing profound transformation. Governments across the world regions increasingly rely on industrial policies, infrastructure investments, and economic statecraft to secure strategic goals. At the same time, corporate elites, firms, and business associations adapt their strategies to shifting political and economic environments.

How do these mutual adjustments reshape the political economy of different world regions? What conceptual and methodological tools are best suited to capture these dynamics?

We invite doctoral and postdoctoral researchers from different area backgrounds and research communities to present and discuss their work in an open setting. The event aims to bring together early-career scholars from political science, international political economy, sociology, and related disciplines to exchange theoretical and methodological approaches. We want to discuss these topics from a cross-area perspective and connect different empirical insights from a diverse set of cases. We welcome paper proposals that explore state–business relations in times of global economic fragmentation from multiple perspectives. Contributions may be
conceptual, methodological, or empirical. We particularly encourage submissions that engage with one or more of the following thematic foci:

1. (Relative) State Autonomy and the Theory of state-business relationships
2. Economic Statecraft and Geoeconomics
3. Industrial Policy and the Reorganization of Production
4. Infrastructures and the Material Politics of Connectivity